A delegation of travel Executives from Japan, including KNT,
NTA, Hankyu, Nokyo Tourist and World Air Sea Service and the
President and CEO of JTB Corporation, Japan's largest travel
agency, enjoyed outstanding tourism experiences in Auckland,
Northland, Waitomo and the highly anticipated All Blacks
versus Japan rugby game in Hamilton over the weekend.
The group was hosted by Air New Zealand, with the visit also
supported by Tourism New Zealand, THL and New Zealand Maori
Tourism. This visit is one of a range of initiatives helping
to rebuild New Zealand's holiday destination profile in Japan.
Other initiatives include the September
issue of Switch magazine that features 32 engaging pages about
New Zealand including an eight page magazine insert, a dedicated
email monthly travel magazine on New Zealand from JTB distributed
to 400,000 customers and a spring pure you campaign using digital
and newspaper advertising.
Tourism New Zealand Regional Manager Japan & Korea Nick Mudge
says this visit leverages the opportunity that the Rugby World Cup
2011 offers to rebuild New Zealand's holiday destination profile in
Japan to both rugby and non-rugby followers.
"Having several executives from top Japan travel agents in New
Zealand sends a really strong message to customers and their staff
that New Zealand is open for business and that New Zealand offers a
range of experiences that are of great interest to Japanese
customers."